Defining your Passion - my story

Do you know of anyone living their passion? I mean truely? Is this passion their life's work? Does their offtime simply blend into their passion time with no wall in between?

I have a friend like that. And until I started persuing my own passion, I didn't quite get it. I thought my friend just worked, well, alot. But now I can see, it isn't work at all if you love what you are doing. It's just that if you get PAID to do what you love, that is icing on the cake. Truely.

What I find most interesting about my friend is that his passion work has morphed tremendously over the years.

(I don't have permission to post his pic and links, otherwise I would. And it's Thanksgiving in Canada so he's kinda busy right now to ask.)

He started in his teens painting signs.

He then moved into window splashes (big signs in storefront windows).

Next he became a fine artist running his own art gallery.

Then he became a world class mural artist having now painted well over 100 to date all over the world.

And then he started a themed environment company, much like what you see at DisneyLand.

He also specializes in 3D signs. For example, if someone is selling ice, you don't get a sign that says ICE. You get a full sized sculpted polar bear.

I'm pretty proud of my friend, but my main point is, this  goes to show, what you're passionate about one year may morph or grow in a new direction the next year. And how equally amazing that what he's doing today is utilizing ALL those talents he's achieved to date.

I started working for my friend Dan when he needed an extra set of hands. I had my own biz which was very flexible, so I was able to make this arrangement work. I'll admit, I was excited to work on his creative projects. But what ultimately came next I wasn't able to imagine it fully beforehand.

Dan taught me to work with tools. He knew he'd have to teach me starting from A. But the difference to Dan was, I was willing and eager and confident I could do it. I just needed to be shown once how to work something and then I would. I worked every day with tools I had never picked up or tried before. And boy did he have tools!

Know what I ended up doing within a year? Hand sculpting concrete creating a parade float for the local town. Welding framework. Painting sculptures. Carving styrofoam with grinders to create 3D airplane components. Hand painting/glazing routered 3D signage and figures for themed golf courses. Helping in his workshops. Being part of a televised news segment. And more. Crazy.

Working on my wood mantel piece

I was very fortunate to have found work with Dan that actually taught me something new EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And it's my belief that the learning process is what jump started me into wanting to search further for my own true passion.

You see, for years I've seen things in my head but didn't know how to build or implement those ideas. So they had to stay in my head unless I could afford to hire someone that COULD do them for me. Talk about frustration! If I wanted to hang a shelf, I waited for help or went without.

The day I started picking up tools and learning how they worked, there was no stopping me. I started building up my own tool collection and started tinkering. And sawing and cutting and nailing. My next step is learning to build and that is where I am today.

Having the skills to do what you are passionate about is like having a steerling wheel in your car. The car is indeed nice, but if you can't steer where you're heading, you're forced to take the bus instead. And driving oneself is MUCH more enticing than having someone do it all for you. You are feeding that creative energy. Someone doing it for you is nice, but won't have the same meaning. Learning it and doing it? Nothing like it. Nothing.

To this day, I get stumped alot. I have a TON to learn! But the good news is, the more I do, the more I know. If I keep moving in the forward direction, there is progress. When I needed spindles for my stairway, I told Dan what I had in mind after staring at his gate and he set me up in minutes for me to do it.

Dan often tells me to have some patience. Things take time to develop. But, to keep at it. If you don't have alot of time in your day, try 10 minutes. Take 10 minutes to do something you have never done before, or move 10 minutes further in the right direction. Those 10 minutes do indeed add up. And we all can spare 10 minutes! If you throw up your arms and exclaim how 10 minutes will NEVER get you where you need to go, that too will happen. Because then you won't do anything. And nothing is flat out not acceptable. Put in your 10 minutes a day. It's my guess that once you get the ball rolling, you'll be putting in a few hours, rather than minutes. It can happen. And it can happen to you.

I have my own biz. I have a home and yard to care for. I'm a sole parent to my 10 yr old son. My plate is generally pretty full. But I'm here to tell you, I'm carving out time to build up towards my passionate goal. I get insecure and go backwards some days, finding the excuse that 'its just too hard.' But other times when I'm in the groove, nothing can stop me.

This stuff all takes time and perserverence and structure. But what's even more important is to believe in yourself.

One of Dan's quotes I often hear in his workshops is:

"You CAN do it. But if you say to me you can't do it, I believe you. Because then you won't." Isn't that the truth?

workshop with friends I've known for many years

I'm about to help Dan in one of his workshops again this upcoming weekend. And I have a feeling that my adreneline will be notched up on HIGH once again after the fact. It happens every time. I'm counting on that motivation to keep me moving in the right direction, for if it wanes, so do my dreams. And I can't let that happen.

And now it's time for me to get to it. Before I started writing this series, I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone that I was a stager/decorater. But now I can and do. There's a store down the road that is waiting for me to bring in my creations. My house currently has pieces in nearly every room that are primed as my garage is full.  I AM starting and I am going to bring my dream into reality!

And it's my sincerest hope that this series has encouraged you to do the same. This will be the last regular installment to this series, for it's time to move onto other things. However should I ever run into some good info that I know would be a wonderful inspiration piece to add to this collection, I'll be sure to post it.

Believe in yourself. Do things to motivate yourself to stay on it. Push through the insecure moments. Keep moving foward. Hang out with passionate folks that inspire you. Learn what you need to.

And then, Just. Do. It. Because, you CAN.